Even though drop sets don’t build much more muscle overall, they do it faster — you get the same tiny muscle gain in less time, which is great if you’re short on workouts.

Even though one method showed a tiny bit more muscle growth, it was so small that it wouldn’t make any noticeable difference in how your arms look or feel.

Doing regular weightlifting reps with full rest between sets builds a tiny bit more arm muscle than doing drop sets on a smart machine, but the difference is so small it doesn’t really matter in real life.

Even with fancy machine tech that automatically lowers weights, drop sets don’t make your arms grow more than regular lifting — the machine doesn’t give you an edge.

Drop sets on the Tonal machine let you finish your workout faster because you don’t rest as long between sets — so you get more muscle growth for every minute you spend lifting.

Both ways of lifting weights — regular sets and drop sets — make your biceps and forearms a little bigger after 10 weeks, by about 2%.